Nazara To Pick 15.9% Stake In Gaming Community Platform STAN

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SUMMARY

Nazara has signed a share purchase agreement to acquire the stake in STAN through its wholly owned subsidiary Nazara Dubai FZ via a secondary transaction from Akshat Rathee and Gautam Singh Virk

It is pertinent to note that Rathee is the cofounder and managing director of Nazara’s subsidiary Nodwin Gaming, while Virk is the cofounder and chief operating officer of Nodwin

The transaction is expected to be completed in a month

Listed gaming major Nazara Technologies is acquiring a 15.86% stake in gaming community platform GetStan Technologies Pte. Ltd (STAN) for INR 18.4 Cr (around $2.2 Mn).

Nazara has signed a share purchase agreement to acquire the stake in STAN through its wholly owned subsidiary Nazara Dubai FZ via a secondary transaction from Akshat Rathee and Gautam Singh Virk.

It is pertinent to note that Rathee is the cofounder and managing director of Nazara’s subsidiary Nodwin Gaming, while Virk is the cofounder and chief operating officer of Nodwin. Both of them also serve as directors in other subsidiaries of Nazara.

The transaction is expected to be completed in a month.

Founded by Parth Chadha, Nauman Mulla, and Rahul Singh in 2015, STAN is a gaming community platform in India. It connects gamers, facilitates meaningful interactions, and provides tools for content creators to thrive. It claims to have a user base of over 12 Mn.

With the acquisition, Nazara is aiming to strengthen its position in the rapidly growing gaming and esports landscape using STAN’s focus on gaming community engagement.

“This investment allows the company to expand its reach while empowering content creators and fostering a stronger gaming community,” Nazara said in a regulatory filing.

STAN’s turnover surged to $1.8 Mn (INR 15 Cr) in the financial year ended March 31, 2024 from $0.9 Mn (INR 1 Cr) in FY23. It reported an EBITDA loss of $0.9 Mn (INR 7.6 Cr) in FY24 compared to an EBITDA loss of $1.2 Mn (INR 10.3 Cr) in the previous fiscal year.

It is pertinent to note that Nazara has made several acquisitions in the recent past. Last month, it received the letter of intent (LoI) to acquire insolvency-ridden sports entertainment startup Smaaash Entertainment. In the same month, Nazara announced the acquisition of UK-based gaming studio Fusebox Games for INR 228 Cr.

Earlier in July, Nazara, via its subsidiary Nextwave Multimedia, bought casual freemium card game “UTP – Ultimate Teen Patti”.

Shares of Nazara ended today’s trading session 0.7% higher/lower at INR 970 on the BSE.